AfriAg reports strong growth for the half year period to 30 June 2015 for perishable trucking agri-logistics with the awarding of the Gatsby Foundation’s Vanduzi exclusive agri-logistics contract and a 40% increase in perishable airfreight logistics compared to the similar period last year, from South Africa to Europe and Asia from AfriAg’s 40% owned specialist African agri-logistics group AfriAg SA (Pty) Ltd (“AfriAg SA”). As at today’s date, AfriAg Plc is also pleased to report that has now acquired, through its 100% owned marketing division AfriAg Marketing Pty Ltd (“AfriAg Marketing”), four diesel Mercedes trucks and three refrigerated 15.2m (30 pallet) trailers painted in AfriAg colours and have ordered a further three trailers to be delivered and in operation by the end of September 2015.

The move is driven by economic reasons and not political reasons, he said at the Africa on Track 2014 Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday. SA’s port charges are among the highest in the world. A study by the regulator found tariffs for the port of Durban to be 874% above the global average for containers. But if the government’s R1bn port tariff rebate is taken into consideration the tariffs decline to 721%.
Trina opens warehouse in South Africa. Trina's Ben Hill said he expected double digit growth in Africa during the next ten years.

Source: Trina. Global module manufacturer Trina Solar has opened a warehouse in South Africa. Expanding its presence in the growing national market, the warehouse is in Pretoria, Gauteng Province. The expansion is part of partnership with a local logistics company already well established in the country.
Rolling stock firm to expand in Africa. THELO Rolling Stock Leasing, a South African rail financier, is seeking a partner to buy a 30% equity stake and help win new contracts around sub-Saharan Africa.

The company is looking for "a strategic equity partner that will lead the company forward," chairman Lumkile Mondi said on Friday. "We need a partner with deep pockets. There are billions and billions of rand worth of projects in Africa.
" SA is part way through a R312bn infrastructure-development programme to improve its rail network and the efficiency of raw-materials exports.

Closely held Thelo is targeting similar programmes in countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya as it seeks to expand across the continent, Mr Mondi said. Thelo, 50% owned by the Industrial Development Corporation, is in talks with African Exim Bank about a $200m loan, Mr Mondi said.
New cargo airline set to be launched from South African port. Dube TradePort CEO, Ms Saxen van Coller and Khuphuka Kings Airways Chairman, Dr Musa Mdluli (Image source: Dube TradePort) Khuphuka Kings Airways will be launched in February 2014 to begin regular cargo and passenger flights from South Africa’s Durban port into other African nations The launch of this new route from Dube TradePort is aimed at increasing connectivity between Durban and Central Africa, assisting economic growth in Durban’s business community.

Saxen van Coller, CEO of Dube TradePort, said, “Our cargo strategy is to target routes in East, Central and West Africa before expanding globally, inclusive of the Far East, North America and Europe.
"
SAMSA Paper.pdf. Nyati as a Cross Border Transport Operation. Saflow.psd - saflow.pdf. Fastjet joins Zuma's son to offer cheap SA flights. Under a memorandum of understanding signed with Blockbuster, Fastjet could start operating on the Johannesburg to Cape Town route by the end of May, it said in a statement.

Blockbuster, which would own a 75 percent stake in the entity, is associated with Zuma's son Edward Zuma and local businessman Yusuf Kajee. Air fares in South Africa had "skyrocketed" since 1Time was liquidated in November, said Fastjet chairman David Lenigas. "We do not seek to be a hostile competitor in the market place, as we fully understand and appreciate the significance of the national carrier and existing airlines in country," he said. "Fastjet seeks to meet... demand, and we look forward to bringing the people of Africa the continent's first low-cost, point-to-point, all jet airline, operating to international standards of safety and quality.
" Fastjet had been in talks with a number of local entities to support its market entry strategy.

This had including the potential buying of liquidated airline 1Time.
South Africa Female Truckers 2. DOCUMENTARY - AFRICAN CROSS BORDER TRUCKER. The Economic & Logistics Entry Point For Inbound Trade Into The SADC Economy. Truck driving in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Acsa’s Aero City in first gear - Industrials. JOHANNESBURG - Airports Company South Africa’s (Acsa) General Manager Tebogo Mekgoe announced on Wednesday that building an aerotropolis is still within the future plans of O.R Tambo International Airport.

An aerotropolis is a city in which the layout, infrastructure, and economy is centred around an airport. The problem however, is that the conceptualisation has been in the pipeline for a while now. The Aero City concept was adopted by Ekurhuleni Mayor Mondli Gungubele in 2011, as part of Ekurhuleni’s 2025 Growth and Development Strategy.
Introduction of the 'Aerotropolis Concept'
Transnet Freight Rail in talks to create unified regional rail system. TRANSNET Freight Rail has started negotiations with four railway organisations in countries north of South Africa to create a unified railway system on the corridor linking South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Transport Minister Ben Martins said on Wednesday.

The organisations are National Railways of Zimbabwe, Zambian Railways, the Congo Railway Company and Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway. Mr Martins said a joint operating centre would be established in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to enable integrated resource planning and to achieve operational efficiencies. The centre would also improve communication as all the organisations would be accommodated in one facility, and enable "effective and quick deviation management" across borders.
Transnet in talks on African copper transport link. TRANSNET Freight Rail hopes to finalise an agreement next month on rail co-operation between South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, allowing the copper-rich countries to increase exports through Durban.

The deal will boost trade in southern Africa, allowing a more efficient and cost-effective movement of goods across borders. Transnet, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Zambian Railways, Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo (SNCC) and Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway have been negotiating the terms of the agreement since last year. Transnet Freight Rail executive manager for international business Nyameka Madikizela said that it was recognised that a unified, cross-border railway system could be devised only by identifying inefficiency obstructing cargo flows. "By February we should have signed the agreement.
Business Portal » South Africa Aviation Industry Targets Africa Domination » Airline transport » News.

South Africa Aviation Industry Targets Africa Domination Public Enterprises Minister, Malusi Gigaba, on Tuesday said Africa would become South Africa’s airline industry’s primary target and planned to “dominate” the continent’s airline industry. He said the state-owned airline, South African Express, intended to aggressively expand into the African continent. Gigaba added South African Airlines (SAA) and SA Express would diversify routes to places such as Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola and Ghana which have been identified as high growth areas. “Quite clearly, Africa must become our primary market. That means that SAA and SA Express must develop integrated strategies. “We need to dominate the African market. Meanwhile, Eskom, South Africa’s electricity utility, intends to start a fund to help finance mining companies owned by black South Africans.
Low-cost airline fastjet could enter South African market, maybe before Christmas. New African low-cost airline fastjet could soon enter the South African market, possibly before Christmas.

The first flights under the fastjet brand began last week.
Transshipment hub to reduce poverty. If African countries are to reach the levels of economic growth needed to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, increased levels of public and private investment must take place in strategic productive sectors, states technical specialist firm Arup. It adds that this is especially true for the transportation infrastructure sector that underpins transshipment hubs.

Musina, in Limpopo, has been identified as one of the most appropriate areas in Southern Africa for the development of a transshipment hub, based on its geographic location and other related factors. Arup infrastructure associate Dinesh Chaithoo notes that the establishment of a transshipment hub in Musina will lead to many economic advantages for the Limpopo province. “This hub will serve as a catalyst for rapid economic development and will make the province the central location for freight movement between South Africa and the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
20120409 MDS launch presentation.pdf (application/pdf Object)